We were going sailing in the Whitsunday Islands for four days and three nights. The boat was beautiful and our little cabin was great. We had our own little on-suite shower and toilet.There were only sixteen passengers on board and eight crew members, including a chef. The meals were wonderful. We got continental breakfast or cooked breakfast.Morning coffee with a snack,Lunch, afternoon tea and cakes, and for dinner we had a choice of two main courses.
We were able to really unwind as the ship sailed around the islands.
And much to my surprise I signed up for the scuba diving. It could have been because the dive instructor was a gorgeous looking Frenchman. But in the morning after some lessons I managed a dive with three other people and the instructor. I just gripped onto the instructors arm all the way. In the afternoon he took me diving just one to one and I was able to dive to 13meters without grabbing hold of him. We also saw a shark during the dive, but thankfully I thought to myself"it cant be" as it disappeared in the distance.So I did not panick.But when the instructor asked me if I had seen it when we surficed I nearly died!!! We all got certificates for the dives. You can see that I am very proud of myself..(And you have to agree that the blond instructor is pretty nice!!!)
The next day we sailed to Whithaven beach.It is one of the ten most beautiful beaches in the world.It is mostly silicone sand so once again we set to work exfoliating our skin.It really does work.
Every night during dinner the Captain would come up on deck and tell us where we had sailed that day and where we would be heading the next day.
They even let us all have a go at hoisting the sails.
One couple on the boat, Mary and Bill, celebrated their 42 wedding anniversary and the crew made a special cake for them so that we could all celebrate together.
As well as scuba diving they took us out in little dingys to snorkel in the barrier Reef and we saw such a colourful collection of fish and coral.
We all had to wear special swim suites to protect us from the stingers(a type of deadly jelly fish that are in the waters around this time.You can die if you get stung by one, so it was better to be safe than sorry)On the last night we put all the tables together and enjoyed a lovely dinner together.
All the passengers mixed so well on the trip so it really made it special.
Then Carolyn and me decided it would be fun to sleep on deck and look at the stars on the last night. We saw a few shooting stars and made some wishes!!
It got pretty nippy at times, but it was worth sleeping out because we saw the most amazing colours in the sky as the sun rose.
But when I got up in the morning I realised that I had been stung on the eye by a mosquito and it swelled up so much that I looked like I had been punched in the eye. But I did not let that spoil the last day of sailing.(It took three days to settle down)
I have to say the sailing in the Whitsundays on the tallship has to be the highlight of my trip so far. It far exceeded my expectations. It is one of the most beautiful places I have been to and the ship was perfect.
